Virginia Tech Hires James Johnson to Replace Seth Greenberg

Virginia Tech may eventually regret its decision to dump Seth Greenberg.
REUTERS

Virginia Tech will hire former assistant James Johnson as its next basketball head coach, according to multiple reports.

WSPA first reported that Virginia Tech would hire Johnson, who recently left the program to take a similar position with Clemson. Johnson was one of four assistants that left the Virginia Tech basketball program this off-season, which led to Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver firing Seth Greenberg after nine seasons in Blacksburg.

Virginia Tech will be Johnson's first head coaching job. In addition to coaching at Virginia Tech for five years, he was an assistant coach on the George Mason team that went to the Final Four in 2006.

The decision to hire Johnson should help keep recruits and current players at Virginia Tech, but is peculiar given that Johnson left the program less than a month ago. He's also not one of the big names that Weaver mentioned he had already been in contact with during the press conference announcing Greenberg's dismissal.

Greenberg was fired after guiding the Hokies to a 170-123 record and one NCAA Tournament berth in nine seasons at Virginia Tech. Weaver cited a lack of a family atmosphere within the basketball program and the exit interviews with the four assistants that left the program as his reasons for firing Greenberg.

It had nothing to do with losing. It had nothing to do with NCAA appearances, Weaver said. It had something to do with people leaving and something to do with me wanting to change the direction and the leadership of the program.

Johnson will have to immediately get on the recruiting trail and hire some assistant coaches.